


Two Souls on Fire

by hoonbunn



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ben is Dry Ice, Eventual Smut, F/M, Inspired by the Frostblood series, Mutual Pining, Rey is a flame surrounded by propaine, Slow Burn, Student/teaching assistant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 23:10:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15650856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoonbunn/pseuds/hoonbunn
Summary: Origin stories were never a favorite of Rey Niima; she always assumed she was a neutral nobody. That was until several years ago... Now, in her final year of college, She struggles to keep her own story securely under wraps. Little is Rey aware that teaching assistant, Ben Solo, shares a similar origin story but on a whole other side of the spectrum. (If you've ever read the Frostblood series by Elly Blake, you may catch where my inspiration came from)





	Two Souls on Fire

Half way through the first week of the semester, Rey was already regretting a class the moment she stepped through the door. She figured a class focusing on fairy tales and myths was going to talk about the tales of Rapunzel or even the tragic ending of the Little Mermaid. She didn’t think more than half the semester would primarily focus on the ancient blood lines she loathed since she was a teen.

“In this class, we will study and analyze various myths and why they…”

Rey slumped further in her chair where she sat in the back of the large auditorium. With her laptop propped on her knees, she scrolled through the latest Buzzfeed quiz ‘ _What Kind of Dog Breed are You?_ ’. She contemplated dropping the course but she needed the final english credit and she wasn’t looking to complete it while in her final semester in the spring. She let her head fall back against the chair as she now took interest in the large intricate ceiling above her.

It’s not like she could have avoided the topic the rest of her life; she would eventually need to tell someone who - what - she was. Up until the age of 15, Rey always assumed she was a ‘neutral nobody’. It was only the logical thing to assume considering being dumped at a local fire station at the age of four by her parents. Blood tests taken confirmed that she in fact was a ‘neutral’. Being labeled as a ‘neutral’ was the most common thing people heard from their doctors that it practically meant nothing. It was a normal thing.

She was thrown into the foster care system and bounced between homes until landing in the unfortunate hands of a man named Unkar Plutt. Plutt was nothing but an alcoholic who made Rey’s entire life hell. When she wasn’t in school she was forced to earn her keep working in Plutt’s run down scrap yard. She would find herself more times than not climbing through the insides of a car to find parts requested by customers; she would stay up till the darkest of hours completing her homework for class so she could maintain decent grades.

More times than not, she would be denied a decent meal. She learned to squirrel away her dismal meals and crappy school lunches just so she could get by day by day. Though Rey was a skinny girl, she made up for the lack of fat with muscle. Climbing around engine blocks and hoisting out transmissions in scrap cars, she built up her body strength and by the age of ten could easily rough house with the eight graders (not that anyone dared to go near Rey after she broke a boy’s nose; Plutt denied her a weeks worth of food as punishment).

In sophomore year, the stress from everything got to Rey. One evening when Plutt demanded more from her than usual, something inside her broke. The notebook she had been holding tight in her grasp combusted in flames. She was fortunate to be in the confines of the garage alone but that evening her entire life flipped upside down. Those who had abilities were not affected by their corresponding elements; fire would not burn and ice would not freeze. She had a fire burning inside her.

Rey had heard rumors of people possessing special abilities throughout her time in school but had yet to meet anyone personally. She had read in old books of people who could control fire and people who could control ice at their will. They were rare to come by and running into someone who hadn’t been labeled when they were a child was an even rarer occasion. Those who had possession were often placed on heavy medications their first week as infants to convert them to neutrals. Though most cases were highly successful and no negative side effects occurred, there were stories on the news where an individual’s blood would revert and they mentally (and almost physically) couldn’t handle the change. The individual wouldn’t be able to suppress the ability and would end up hurting multiple people. It was instances such as those rogue occurrences that made neutral people despise those who had possession.

For those whose parents chose for their children to grow up with their abilities were forced to be separated during the developmental years of their lives. Their children would be sent to special boarding schools to be taught how to control and suppress their abilities naturally. Whether Rey had been born with her abilities or she developed them later, she’d never know anyway. She had them now and they weren't going away. She still identified as a neutral and she planned to keep it that way as long as possible. She avoided every blood test that would prove otherwise and made sure to never require medical attention.

Though that in and of itself was becoming increasingly more and more difficult. Those who had fire in their blood had a body surface temperature warmer than your average neutral. Anyone who touched Rey would be sceptical of her and automatically assume what she was. Though they weren’t wrong, she would make sure to identify as neutral and show them her identification so they’d still approach her; even though in the end they would wind up leaving anyway.

When Rey graduated from high school and turned eighteen, she made it her mission to get into a college as far away from Plutt as possible. From the scorching sand of Arizona, she was accepted into a college in Illinois. In the heart of downtown Chicago, Rey lived a little ways from the school campus. Her roommates, Rose and Finn also attended the same school. Rey had met Finn when she was sixteen while on an errand for Plutt.

Tasked with the challenge of locating an ancient antique emblem for a customer, Rey came across Finn in the same scrap yard attempting to yank out a catalytic converter from a smashed up Toyota. Clearly struggling with the task, Rey offered him assistance which he gladly accepted. They started to chat casually and found out that their ‘guardians’ (Finn was in the foster system too) were business partners. They were best friends from that day on. They later met Rose in their Freshman core classes at school; ‘Peas in a pod’ is what Rose called them. The second semester of their Sophomore year together, they all got jobs and could afford to move into a 3 bedroom apartment just outside the inner city limits.

“In this class, you students will not only be partnering with me as an instructor but you will be required to check in with the teaching assistants assigned to you.”

Rey’s head snapped up to look at her instructor. How fucking splendid. Rey didn’t exactly have the best track record when it came to dealing with TAs. In her sophomore year science course, she’d missed an online paper deadline by three minutes and the TA had been such a snob that he wouldn’t allow her to submit for grading. He’d then had been stupid enough to email her and offered her a possible solution; trade herself for one sexual act and he’d gladly give her the highest reasonable grade possible. When she had brought it to the administrator’s attention, the TA had been investigated and removed from the program. Another TA in her junior year elective class tried to pick a fight with her over a comment she had made during class. Rey ended the argument with a punch to the guy’s nose after he shoved her into a desk. Knowing Rey’s luck - she’d possibly be going three for three this semester.

“Each of you will be receiving an email from your respective TA by the end of the day. They will be introducing themselves and providing you with what materials you’ll need for this class. All assignments will be turned into them and I will be reviewing their decisions of grades being given to you. If by the end of today you do not get an email, please contact me so I can respectively reach out to them.”

Rey’s head fell back against the chair again. She was really starting to hate this class even more now.

“This will conclude today’s session. I look forward to seeing everyone next week and expect everyone to complete the assigned reading and be ready for discussion in the next class.”

Sliding from her seat, Rey shoved her laptop in her backpack. This was her only class for the day so she had a few hours before she had to shoot across campus to her job at Maz’s cafe. Though technically she had enough time to waste to where she could hop the train and head home for a few hours, it wouldn’t be worth the train fare and aggravation of the evening  congested commute when she was already on campus. You see, when Rey had been looking for a job, she had come across Maz attempting to cross the street carrying a shit ton of boxes stacked well over her line of vision. She couldn’t sit idle and watch Maz handle it all on her own so she offered to carry a few of the boxes.

As it turned out, Maz was bringing supplies to the little coffee shop she owned just off the campus perimeter and that morning her car’s water pump kicked the bucket. When Rey offered  to take a look at Maz’s car, the woman happily accepted (why, Rey wasn’t sure) but that afternoon, Rey had Maz’s car up and running without any problems. As Rey casually chatted with Maz and worked on her vehicle, she shared how she was working towards her degree as a machinist and also found out that one of Maz’s baristas had just put in her two weeks and Maz was in need of a replacement.

_“I don’t know much when it comes to coffee… but I am a pretty quick learner…”_

Maz had grown fond of Rey so quickly that she offered her the position; No job interview or resume required. Kind of as a ‘thank you for fixing my car’, Maz gave her the job. So, two and a half years later, Rey still worked at Maz’s little cafe.

Over time, Maz slowly came to fill the empty void in Rey’s heart where the love for a parent would be. However, with Rey’s unfortunate luck, Maz had also put the pieces of the puzzle together and found out Rey wasn’t a Neutral but instead a ‘Fireling’. It had happened so quickly that Rey didn’t think to cover it up when it happened - She and Maz were cleaning up the cafe after closing when a bucket of scalding water had fallen off the counter. The back side of Rey’s legs had gotten hit and when she didn’t flinch upon contact, Maz only smiled at Rey as she picked up the empty bucket. When Rey approached Maz about everything, the older woman hushed her and told her she had nothing to worry about and that her secret was safe.

With a few hours to kill, Rey decided to go hang out in the student lounge. Considering she had nothing better to do with it being the first week of classes, she was going to waste her time the best way she knew how - youtube and social media.

As Rey made her way across the campus, she kicked little piles of the fallen autumn leaves that scattered across the pathway. She seriously contemplated dropping the course again. The course was open mainly for discussion. The professor had said that opinions with strong supportive evidence was encouraged in the class but Rey feared that her evidence could eventually land her in a dangerous spot. Half the course would be spent talking about blood lines and with herself being a possessor of fire without any proper training, you could easily compare her to an open flame surrounded by gasoline.

Finally making it to the student lounge, Rey made quick work at finding the couches towards the back of the lounge. Most students crowded around the tables with their friends and food while Rey chose to spread out on a loveseat facing the windows. Tossing her backpack to the cushion, she slumped over and propped her leg up and over the armrest. Getting to the task of mindless social media browsing, she fished out her laptop and propped that on her thighs. Before losing herself to the world wide web, she opted for checking her student email one more time.

With several new messages, she skimmed the subject lines and deleted the ones she had no interest for (she only really cared about the weekly lunch menu and any information from her professors). Her eyes fell upon a subject title received twelve minutes prior: _Teaching Assistant - Ancient Myths and Fairytales._ She made sure she deleted any email she didn’t wish to read before clicking on the one with her assigned TA. She noticed the two attachments first, one for the syllabus and one for the reading assignments. Then, she read the following:

 

_Dear Students,_

_My name is Ben Solo and I will be your assigned teaching assistant for the class on Myths and Fairytales you are taking this semester. I have attached the class syllabus that will outline each assignment you will have and the discussion topics for each class. Also attached is the list of books needed for the assigned readings; I advise you to have them for the following class. Also, I would like to mention that I am offering an opportunity for extra credit (I encourage you to take this opportunity if you have the time to do so)._

_It’s nothing difficult at this time of the semester: Starting today (for the next week) I will be spending time at a small cafe just off the campus; Consider this a meet and greet if you will. If you come stop by Maz’s Coffee Corner between the hours of 4 pm and 8 pm, I will be seated in one of the back tables by the windows. I’d like to take the opportunity to get to know the students I will be working alongside._

 

_I hope you all survive your first week of classes._

_Ben Solo_

 

Rey felt her blood run cold. She really was going three for three when it came to TAs. ‘ _Starting today (for the next week)_ ’ - Rey wanted to chuck her laptop across the student lounge. Not only would she be working, but she would have to deal with the small influx of students coming for coffee and the stupid meet and greet. To make things even better, he was going to be there for her entire shift. Of the seven days for the next week she would have to see him for five of them.

She groaned as she closed the email tab. This was going to be a long week.


End file.
